Whether you’re going to your first therapy session ever, you’re returning to it after taking a long break, or you’ve been in therapy for years, it’s possible you may be asking yourself, “What should I talk about in therapy?”

You may wonder where to start or what’s appropriate to bring up, or you may be afraid that something that’s on your mind isn’t a “big enough” problem or “too big” of a problem to even be worth bringing up with a therapist. 

But the truth is, you can talk about anything in therapy. If it is causing you distress or contributing to what brings you to therapy, it’s fair game. You might enter therapy for one reason and then other things come up that you need help processing. 

Therapy is something that should be personalized to you, so you can feel comfortable talking about anything, and you don’t have to be in crisis for it to be a helpful tool. To help give you some places to start and normalize some of what might be on your mind, here are some topics that you can cover in therapy: 

Your feelings around being in therapy 

• Your hesitation or skepticism about being in therapy 
• Your previous therapy experiences
• Your beliefs about therapy 
• Not knowing what to say in a first session or follow-up sessions
• Feeling unsure about what’s bringing you to therapy 

Your relationships

• Important people in your life
• Frustrating people in your life
• People you miss
• What you wish people would do more of
• What you wish people would do less of
• How to set boundaries 
• Your family and friends

Your emotions

• What makes you laugh 
• What makes you angry
• What makes you cry
• What scares you
• How your mood has changed

Your thoughts

• Patterns you find yourself repeating
• Memories you think about a lot
• What worries you
• Irrational thoughts
• Intrusive thoughts
• Your thoughts about yourself

Your everyday life

• What stresses you out
• Where you feel stuck
• What you want to change
• What you want to stay the same 
• Things that bother you
• What goals you want to set
• How you cope or what gets you through hard times

This list is nowhere near exhaustive, but it can serve as a starting place if you’re feeling at a loss with what to talk to your therapist about in any given session, even if you’ve been in therapy for years.   

Whatever it is for you, know that therapy is your space and you should feel comfortable and safe talking about anything you need to.

If you feel like the support of a therapist could help you work through boundaries you need to set, schedule a call with a Two Chairs Care Advisor to learn how we can help you, or book a matching appointment if you’re ready to get started.